AC Cooler Device

ABSTRACT

An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner may include a top section and a bottom section being detachably connected to the top section. The top section and the bottom section may be connected to form a passageway for the input line of the air conditioner, and the bottom section may include a input source to input a fluid to cool the input line. The top section may include a drain to drain the fluid and the bottom section may include bottom connection flanges to connect to the top section. The top section may include top connection flanges to connect to the bottom section.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to air-conditioning systems and more particularly to an apparatus for increasing the efficiency of an air conditioner.

BACKGROUND

In a modern air conditioning system, a heat exchange fluid, typically a form of Freon in a home or a small commercial system, circulates in a closed system comprising a compressor, a first heat exchanger [condenser], a flow restriction and second heat exchanger called an evaporator. The heat exchange medium is compressed in the compressor and exits in the vapor phase at high temperature and high pressure. This returning gas flows to the outdoor heat exchanger or condenser, a series of coils containing the Freon or other heat exchange medium where air from outside the area to be cooled flows across the hot gaseous fluid containing coils and extracts heat from the fluid causing the fluid to condense to the liquid phase as it progresses through the coil, becoming totally fluid before the end of the coil. The reminder of the coil is used to subtract additional heat from the Freon before it leaves the condenser via the liquid line.

The fluid, now at ambient or higher temperature in liquid phase and still at high pressure, enters the flow restriction. It expands as it exits the flow restriction. As a result of expansion and vaporization, the fluid exits as a mixed liquid/vapor at low temperature and pressure.

The fluid then enters the evaporator, a series of coils where a fan causes the hot air to be cooled to flow over the coils thereby transferring heat from the hot air to the fluid and changing it to the vapor phase as it warms. The low pressure fluid travels to the compressor where the compressor pumps the returning fluid to the condenser, where outside air is drawn across it by a fan as the cycle begins again.

In a central air conditioning system, the air contained in the space to be cooled is moved through a return air duct by a fan located in the air handling unit and then through an evaporator where the air is both cooled and dehumidified. The conditioned air is then distributed through the supply ductwork back to the space and the cycle repeats itself until the desired conditions are obtained. In a room air conditioner, the air flowing across the evaporator is discharged directly into the room.

Various types of coolant fluids are in use to cool the air, such as Freon, water, or a water-glycol mix.

As the hot room air passes over the evaporator coils and is cooled, it is no longer able to hold the quantity of moisture present as water vapor. Droplets of liquid water condense on the surface of the evaporator coils. This condensate water, typically at a temperature of about 40 degrees F., falls from the coils by gravity and is collected, typically in a drip pan. The condensate must be disposed of either by channeling it to a remote drain or by letting it drip from the unit in the case of a window or wall or transom mounted unit.

The oil or gas shortage of 1974 started the process of increasing air conditioner efficiency. Even so, until about 1980 there was no particular concern about the cost of running an air conditioner, as prices in general were fairly low. Air conditioners then began to be designed with efficiency considerations in mind, using fewer or lighter materials, in an attempt to obtain more BTU's/unit of electricity. Electric motors and compressors became smaller and lighter and drew less amperage, becoming more efficient due to advances in electrical engineering. An orifice, an advanced metering device, was designed which would allow a lower head pressure or condensing pressure to be used, which in turn lowered the electric draw the compressor used. In conjunction with this, more coil surface is now used in the condenser to lower head pressure and provide more sub-cooling of the liquid Freon.

Over the years different various more effective heat transfer fluids were developed. Time delay relays were also developed which delay the evaporator fan from turning on until the compressor runs for about 30 to 60 seconds to start the Freon moving through the inside coil, and which extend fan operation on shutdown for approximately 30 to 60 seconds to take advantage of the Freon still evaporating.

Attempts have been made to increase efficiency by running the liquid line through the condensate water drain pan but this provides little benefit because the water is warm.

Water cooled condensers were developed early on and are in use in commercial applications using cooling towers, but the residential use of water cooled condensers has never been feasible because of cost or esthetic considerations preventing the use of a residential cooling tower.

Among the improvements that have been implemented is the addition to the system of a small heat exchanger, which coils the liquid line around the suction line, sub-cooling the liquid line while also boiling off any droplets of Freon still remaining in the suction line. This however does not increase the efficiency of the unit as energy is just transferred from one line to the other and was used mainly to protect the compressor from un-evaporated droplets of Freon, or in some cases to cool the liquid line.

In summary, AC units have been lightened and made smaller, Freon 22 adopted as the Freon of choice in air conditioning systems, time delay relays are commonly used on evaporator fans, and lower head pressures are now the norm.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,172 discloses that a high efficiency whole house or room air conditioner having an auxiliary heat exchanger in the liquid line between the condenser and the expansion device where the coolant fluid utilized in the auxiliary heat exchanger is condensate water produced by the evaporator. Also disclosed is a substantially dripless window or wall mounted air conditioner having an auxiliary heat exchanger in the hot gas line between the compressor and the condenser where the coolant fluid utilized in the auxiliary heat exchanger is condensate water and the condensate water coolant fluid is converted to a substantial extent to the gaseous phase by heat exchange with the hot gas line from the compressor.

SUMMARY

An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner may include a top section and a bottom section being detachably connected to the top section.

The top section and the bottom section may be connected to form a passageway for the input line of the air conditioner, and the bottom section may include a source input to input a fluid to cool the input line.

The top section may include a drain to drain the fluid and the bottom section may include bottom connection flanges to connect to the top section.

Device may have two or more sections connected together, to form a watertight reservoir. The sections may be flanged, clamped, banded or otherwise connected to form a reservoir for cooling fluid.

The top section may include top connection flanges to connect to the bottom section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a top cross-sectional view of the bottom section of the AC cooler device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom cross-sectional view of the top section of the AC cooler device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an assembled end view of the AC cooler device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an assembled side view of the AC cooler device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system view of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention exchanges heat outside the air handling unit which prevents reintroduction of moisture back into the conditioned space. One of the benefits of this device is that it will more rapidly dehumidify the conditioned space.

The present invention increases the efficiency of air conditioning systems by utilizing the cooling values of condensate water or other sources of water/fluid by heat exchanging the cold condensate water with the heat exchange medium utilized in an air conditioning system. While the present invention speaks of condensate water or water other types of fluid are within the scope of the invention. An AC cooler device 100 or auxiliary heat exchanger is detachably clamped on or detachable attached to the liquid line of the system. Condensate water collected from the evaporator or an external source is heat exchanged with the heat exchange liquid in the liquid line, cooling the heat exchange liquid before it enters the system's expansion device.

With ever increasing energy costs it is desirable to increase the efficiency of air conditioning units by not wasting any of the possible sources of cooling. Condensate water, is a currently wasted source of cooling in residential and mobile environments. Cold condensate water may be used to take advantage of a free cooling effect it can offer which in turn yields a more efficient system.

The condensate can be put to use in various ways to extract heat from the Freon or other heat exchange fluid in the condensing unit instead of being wasted, providing a higher efficiency rating of the system. This can be of greatest benefit in hot humid areas where large amounts of condensate are produced, or where unconditioned outside air is constantly being introduced to the system, such as in a bus or other mass transportation system.

The more the Freon is sub-cooled the more heat it can extract once it is in the evaporator coil. Outside air temperature is the lowest temperature it can be sub-cooled to so as outside air temperature rises, so also does the liquid line temperature; and a corresponding drop in efficiency results.

One location for sub-cooling the liquid line in a central air conditioning unit is just before it enters the inside unit, as it can picks up heat or loses heat on its journey from the outside unit while the water is at its coldest as it drips from the condenser coil into the drain pan, before it picks up heat on its way outside.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the AC cooler device 100 which is shown as being substantially a cylinder in shape. Other shapes such as rectangular, triangular, oval or other shapes are within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top split view of the bottom section 101 and illustrates a bottom central passageway 107 which may be adapted to contain an air conditioning line more particularly an input line 109 to the evaporative cooler (see FIGS. 3 and 4). FIG. 1 additionally illustrates a source input 111 which may be positioned at one end of the bottom central passageway 107 and at an opposed end to the drain output 113 (as illustrated in FIG. 4). The bottom central passageway 107 may extend between the side surfaces 115 of the bottom section 101. The bottom central passageway 107 may cooperate and be substantially coextensive with the top central passageway 105 in order to provide for the input line 109 to the evaporative cooler and to provide a passageway for the condenser water to cool the heat radiating from the input line 109. The source input 111 and the drain output 103 may be internally threaded in order to couple to feed and drain lines, other types of connections are within the scope of the invention. FIG. 1 additionally illustrates that the bottom section 101 may include outward radiating bottom flanges 117 which may include a central aperture 119 which may be internally threaded to cooperate with outward radiating top flanges 131 and central aperture 133 of the top section 103, and the central aperture 119 and the central aperture 133 may cooperate with the fastening device 135 to connect the top section 103 to the bottom section 101.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of the top section of the AC cooler device 100 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an end view of the top section 103 and the bottom section 101 and illustrates a top central passageway 105 and the bottom central passageway 107 which may be adapted to contain an air conditioning line more particularly an input line 109 to the evaporative cooler (see FIGS. 3 and 4). FIG. 3 additionally illustrates a drain output 113 which may be positioned at one end of the top central passageway 105 and at an opposed end to the source input 111. The bottom central passageway 107 may cooperate and be substantially coextensive with the top central passageway 105 in order to provide for the input line 109 to the evaporative cooler and to provide a passageway for the condenser water to cool the heat radiating from the input line 109. The source input 111 and the drain output 103 may be internally threaded in order to couple to feed and drain lines. FIG. 4 additionally illustrates that the bottom section 101 may include outward radiating bottom flanges 117 (which may be sealed with rubber seal or sealant silicone or other appropriate types of sealant) which may include a central aperture 119 which may be internally threaded to cooperate with outward radiating top flanges 131 and central aperture 133 of the top section 103 and the central aperture 119 and the central aperture 133 may cooperate with the fastening device 135 to connect the top section 103 to the bottom section 101. The top section 103 may be detachably connected to the bottom section 101 so that the AC cooling device 100 can be easily installed and removed which may be beneficial for retrofitting existing systems.

FIG. 3 additionally illustrates a drain output 113 which may be positioned at one end of the top central passageway 105 and at an opposed end to the source input 111 (as illustrated in FIG. 1). The bottom central passageway 107 may cooperate and be substantially coextensive with the top central passageway 105 in order to provide for the input line 109 to the evaporative cooler and to provide a passageway for the condenser water to cool the heat radiating from the input line 109. The source input 111 and the drain output 113 may be internally threaded in order to couple to feed and drain lines. FIG. 3 additionally illustrates that the bottom section 101 may include outward radiating bottom flanges 117 which may include a central aperture 119 which may be internally threaded to cooperate with outward radiating top flanges 131 and central aperture 133 of the top section 103 and the central aperture 119 and the central aperture 133 may cooperate with the fastening device 135 to connect the top section 103 to the bottom section 101.

FIG. 4 illustrates an assembled side view of the top section 103 and the bottom section 101 and illustrates a top central passageway 105 and the bottom central passageway 107 which may be adapted to contain an air conditioning line more particularly an input line 109 to the evaporative cooler. FIG. 4 additionally illustrates a drain output 113 which may be positioned at one end of the top central passageway 105 and at an opposed end to the source input 111. The bottom central passageway 107 may cooperate and be substantially coextensive with the top central passageway 105 in order to provide for the input line 109 to the evaporative cooler and to provide a passageway for the condenser water to cool the heat radiating from the input line 109. The source input 111 and the drain output 103 may be internally threaded in order to couple to feed and drain lines. FIG. 4 additionally illustrates that the bottom section 101 may include outward radiating bottom flanges 117 which may include a central aperture 119 which may be internally threaded to cooperate with outward radiating top flanges 131 and central aperture 133 of the top section 103 and the central aperture 119 and the central aperture 133 may cooperate with the fastening device 135 to connect the top section 103 to the bottom section 101. The top section 103 may be detachably connected to the bottom section 101 so that the AC cooling device 100 can be easily installed and removed which may be beneficial for retrofitting existing systems.

The device may be installed on a horizontal or vertical plane or any variation thereof, which provides proper flow of condensate.

FIG. 5 discloses a central air conditioning system embodiment of the invention. A heat exchange fluid, typically Freon is contained in lines L1, L2, L3 and L4. Freon in liquid form at ambient or higher temperature in L2 flows from the condenser 2, passes through expansion device 5 and enters evaporator 4 where hot air to be cooled entering the system through plenum 9 is forced through evaporator 4 by fan 7. The hot air, now cooled by heat exchange in evaporator 4 is returned through plenum 8.

The Freon, vaporized by the heat absorbed in evaporator 4 flows through line L3 to compressor 1. The compressed hot vapor exits the compressor 1 via line L1 and flows to condenser 2 where ambient temperature air is forced through the coils of condenser 2 by fan 3, cooling the hot Freon and converting it to liquid form.

Condensate water flows through line L5 which normally is routed to a drain, is diverted to the input source of the AC cooler device 100 through L5.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. 

1) An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner, comprising: a top section; a bottom section being detachably connected to the top section; the top section and the bottom section being connected to form a passageway for the input line of the air conditioner; wherein the bottom section includes a input source to input a fluid to cool the input line and wherein the top section includes a drain to drain the fluid. 2) An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner as in claim 1, wherein the bottom section includes bottom connection flanges to connect to the top section. 3) An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner as in claim 2, wherein the top section includes top connection flanges to connect to the bottom section. 4) An AC cooler device for cooling an input line of an air conditioner as in claim 3, wherein a fastening device cooperates with the top connection flanges and the bottom connection flanges to detachably connect the top section from the bottom section. 